What we have learned and conquered with autismIf you have a child with a special need, you know how precious they are!  Yes, they may require a bit more of our time, but I feel that as a parent I was specially chosen for my child!   God blessed me as the caretaker of this beautiful, kind hearted young man that I am raising and I take this role very seriously!

Meet my son Austin!

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My son may require a bit more of my time, but I feel this is a blessing to me! Why, you ask?   Well you see, during the extra time spent with my son he teaches me a LOT!   Just as I am guiding and teaching him, he is doing the same for me!

My son Austin is high functioning autistic with asperger tendencies.   He is perpetually happy and has a BIG heart!   At age 7, I wasn't sure if he would ever be able to speak in a full sentence or if anyone other than myself would be able to understand him. Today, at age 17 1/2 he has overcome nearly 97% of his autism and asperger tendencies and he is walking around with his Idaho issued learner's permit in his wallet in his back pocket! (Cheering and Tearing).   There is hope….

What we have learned and conquered with autism 5  Mountain Boy Journals Willy

PLEASE read on to see what worked for us, just maybe these same things will work for you and your child!

God blessed me at an early age with a desire to fight for what is right, seek knowledge in an effort to educate myself on things I did not know and instilled in me the spirit that no mountain was too wide or too high for me to climb!  I learned to adjust my path not my goal!  I am the forever optimist and live by extreme faith!

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

This mind set was a gift that aided me in helping my son overcome 97% of his autistic and asperger struggles.  I would like to mention that I was determined to help my son without medicating him and finding natural treatments and we were very successful this way.  The 1st two things that got us on the path to recovery was a gluten free and casein free diet and 7 months of twice weekly hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

What we have learned and conquered with autism 4  What we have learned and conquered with autism 2

What is a Gluten Free and Casein Free Diet?

Let me share some details on both.  A gluten free and casein free diet means NO dairy and NO wheat flour.  I would highly recommend that you try this with your child.  As I mentioned, my son is such a happy go lucky fella, but when he is given dairy (even as little as a teaspoon) it caused him to have excessive outbursts of anger, caused him to be oppositional/argumentative and caused him to completely lose the sensation of his bowls.  This was drastic!!   So if you have a child that is argumentative, has stomach and bowel issues and is on a roller coaster ride of emotions you can assist your child greatly by eliminating the dairy.  The key to this is by removing 100% wheat and dairy from the diet. If you allow them to have a little here or a little there you are actually doing more harm then good and you will see full results by doing this 100%.

If you need help with this, PLEASE email me at survive@trayerwilderness.com.  We have been on this diet for over 10 years and I can make many recommendations and stay tuned for my Gluten Free and Casein Free Diet 101 post that is coming next.

What it Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is done via what they refer to as a chamber. It looks like a long canvas barrel laying on it's side. You climb in from the top and lie down and they zip up the chamber and pressurize the chamber with oxygen. You can either lie there and sleep for the hour, watch a movie, read or because I needed to enjoy this treatment with my son we would sit up (I had to hunch over a little bit) and we would play games to pass the time.  While you are in the chamber all you do is breath!  This high pressure oxygen travels through your body rejuvenating your organs and your brain.

The Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can be very costly, but it is well worth every penny I spent.  If you are aware of other children in your area that could benefit from this treatment, you can rent a chamber and divide the cost and use amongst several families which make it more affordable.

Austin went from a pre-primer reading level at the beginning of those treatments while in third grade to a high 2nd grade reading level in only 7 months!!  (BIG cheer)  You will not find someone who likes to read more than he does….  That was a pure blessing, but he also began speaking in full sentences as well….  (Tears)

Let's talk about metal detoxing?

Often times autistic and asperger children have high levels of metals in their systems. Heavy metals alter neurotransmitter activity and have been associated with behaviors of inattention and lack of alertness.  You can have a hair and saliva analysis done to see what things look like for your child. It is very helpful to rid your child of these toxins which will open up new doors for your child's progress.  We are currently using essential oils for our metal detoxing, see below.

Bowel and Intestine Troubles

Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia and Non-Specific Colitis is common in children with neurological disorders such as autism and aspergers.  This is due to inflammation of the lymph nodes.   You can find more detailed information in the webinar link below.  We have utilized essential oils to remedy this, see below for our essential oil protocol.

Let's talk about supplements

Another thing we did was add several daily supplements to our son's regimen which also helped him considerably. We found with our son that he had a hard time storing calcium. Calcium is our bodies insulation from the stresses that we receive daily. Without the calcium buffer for these children they are typically over stimulated and overwhelmed which can be greatly aided by adding these simple supplements to their diet and routine. Below you will find a list of the various over the counter supplements that Austin takes on a regular basis. Unlike myself, where a B12 vitamin picks me up, it has a calming affect on my son and together with the other supplements they allowed him to stay focused and really helped him when he was having a bad day as well.

Chewable Calcium Magnesium

Calcium Metabolizer Spray

Chewable Zinc Tablets

Probioitic Acidophilus Liquid

Probioitic Acidophilus Chewable Tablets

Vitamin B-12

Now there were also some very wonderful supplements that we use that help greatly with aiding brain function, digestive health and amino acid therapy, but it is necessary to get them from a licensed practitioner.   Dr. Harold Grams is the doctor that helped us with the hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the GFCF diet and the supplements.   He can be found at HaroldGrams.com.   He does offer phone consults and has been helping children and adults with autism for over 35 years to which also includes his very own granddaughter.

What We Learned and Conquered with Autism

Books I Would Recommend

No Greatness Without Goodness:  How A Father's Love Changed A Company and Sparked A Movement by Randy Lewis

Meet Jamie Now:  A Life Free Of Autism by Krista Vance

 

Podcasts

Interview with Author Randy Lewis

Interview with Author Krista Vance

Interview with my son Austin of MountainBoyJournals.com

Vickilynn Haycraft of RealFoodLiving.com and SurvivalMomRadio.com interviewed me

 

Publications

Homesteading and Survival with a Special Needs Child by Tammy Trayer in Self Reliance Illustrated Issue #20

Goodbye Gluten by Tammy Trayer in The New Pioneer Magazine Issue #177

Webinar – Essential Oils and the Brain

I just did a webinar as of late with Danielle Daniel's. She shared her knowledge on how essential oils can assist those with autism, aspergers and ADHD. The webinar was an educational on essential oil basics as well as how essential oils can affect the brain, here is the post if you missed it: http://trayerwilderness.com/recorded-webinar-1-essential-oils-and-the-brain/  I would HIGHLY recommend taking the time to listen and watch this webinar.  I think it will shed a lot of light for you.

For Overall Good Health

Our families has fully removed all processed foods from our diet which has made such a huge difference.  We make everything from scratch – EVERYTHING and if we are traveling and have to eat out or eat something packaged we can be certain that we will be sick for at least 3 days as our bodies, no longer used to all the toxins, has to process the food we ate.

We focus greatly on good health and here are a few things we do:

  • Reduce inflammation in the body & intestines
  • Reduce the growth of bad bacteria in our intestines
  • Increase good bacteria in our intestines with homemade water kefir soda, milk kefir smoothies or shakes or kombucha (Recipes coming soon – let me know if you are interested)
  • Cleanse body and internal organs of toxins & heavy metals (liver, kidneys, intestine, colon)
  • Strengthen and heal the lining of the intestines and cleanse internal organs
  • Healthy diet – everything from scratch, non-gmo ingredients, whole foods
  • Natural health, foraging from the wild, making our own teas, tinctures and salves
  • Good Vitamins – you can get more details on what we use here
  • Essential Oils – (see our protocol next)

Our Essential Oil Protocol

Our focus with the essential oils is to use what God has provide for us just as we do when we forage the plants from the wild and we are using the essential oils which is the purest form of the plant.  We utilize essential oils aromatically, internally and topically.

PLEASE NOTE:  You do need to take great caution with Essential Oils.   Not all oils are used the same,  so for example one may be able to be taken internally and another may not.   It is important that you do your research and know how to use your oils.  I can help you with this as well.  Do not leave children unattended with essential oils.

My Suggestions For Getting Started

Now I listed quite a few options for each bullet point, but my suggestion to get started with the oils and the protocol would be to get Lemon Essential Oils, Detoxification Blend of Essential Oils, Digestive Blend of Essential Oils, Focusing Blend of Essential Oils, Supplements or the Chewables.

Also because your days are often like mine, I would recommend you use the same Supplements I do to help you through those stressful days.  Honestly,  they have been the best thing I have found for myself.  The beginning of this year I was really run down and was struggling with adrenal fatigue and was having a really hard time getting back on track.  I was very skeptical in trying these because I have had troubles my whole life with vitamins.  Often times they just made me sick versus helping me, but I started taking these and I was WOWED!  I have not felt this good in such a LONG time so I truly recommend these.  Also please know that I will never recommend ANYTHING to you that I do not personally use and can honestly recommend.

Oils Are Available Through Trayer Wilderness

Just a little side note, if you are interested in the oils and incorporating them into your routine, email me at oils@trayerwilderness.com and I will be happy to further discuss the specifics of what we use in detail and help you get started.   You may also be interested in receiving your oils at a discount.  If you are interested in a discount, please email me at oils@trayerwilderness.com and in the subject line add I Would Like A Discount on Oils.

If you have any questions, thoughts or needs, PLEASE don't hesitate to reach out to me or leave a comment below.  Our children are special and so are you my dear friend!  You were placed on this earth with a very special job to care for such a unique individual(s).  Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope that my son and I can be an inspiration to you and help you to enjoy this journey called life!  My next post will be on our experiences with schooling and homeschooling.

~ Just remember there is HOPE, NEVER give up and keep the FAITH! ~

God Bless!

Tam † ♥

 What we have learned and conquered with autism

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